Goodbye, Elton John: Inside the music legend’s final Dodger Stadium concert
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The last time Elton John played a ballgame at Dodger Stadium, the final act was a song written for a different Dodger Stadium.
In 1988, the music legend performed to a sold-out crowd for a game against the Montreal Expos in the first big stadium event at the old stadium. When John played an Elton John-themed concert at Dodgers Stadium in 2015, all bets were off.
In a ceremony at the stadium on Wednesday, John became the only person on the Dodgers’ coaching staff to retire at the final game of his career, his final performance before being cut by the team on Dec. 31, 2015. He will be inducted into the Dodger Hall of Fame in early July.
John began his career in his native England in the late 1950s, making his first record in 1961 with “Rocket 88” followed by “Candle in the Wind.” He would go on to record the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen’s “Tunnel of Love” and “Tiny Dancer” by Carly Simon.
One of his most enduring compositions is “Candle in the Wind,” which has been covered by everyone from Michael Jackson to Tom Petty. John has lived a life of musical contradictions, his career spanning more than three decades and his songs often being banned for decades at a time.
John received his only major Grammy Award for his 1973 “Candle in the Wind.” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984 and a star on the London Arts and Music Walk in 2004.
The Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of the NLCS in 2015. The Dodgers were down to their final roster spot when they were shutout by the Nationals in Game 4 last Saturday, but they made it to their second straight World Series.
When the Dodgers started their final regular-season road trip, they were one game behind the Baltimore Orioles, who have a chance at their first World Series appearance since moving their team from Baltimore in 1969. The Dodgers are a game back of the Chicago Cubs in the Central Division.
Elton John will be the